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St.
Francis Chruch
Situated at Parade Road, 2 Km west of Mattancherry in Fort
Cochin, this church was originally dedicated to Santo
Antonio, the patron Saint of Portugal. It was built by the
Portuguese presumably by the Franciscan friars in 1503. It
is the first church to have been built in the new European
influenced tradition. The original structure in wood, was
rebuilt in stone around the mid 6th century. Vasco - Da -
Gama the first European to reach India, died in Kochi in
1524 and was originally buried in this church cemetery.
After 14 years his remains were removed to Lisbon in
Portugal. The gravestone of Vasco - da - Gama can still be
seen here. The old rope operated fans in the church are
still preserved.
In 1663, when the Dutch arrived in Kochi, they converted it
to a protestant church and substantially modified it. The
church was under the control of the Dutch until 1795. In
1804, they surrendered the church to the Anglican Communion
of the British. The congregation joined the Protestant
Church of South India in 1949. The Sunday service is at 0800
hrs, except the 3rd Sunday of each month. Open from sunrise
to sunset.
Santa Cruz Cathedral, Fort Kochi
This Roman Catholic Cathedral close to St. Francis Church,
was built by the Portuguese and elevated to a Cathedral by
Pope Paul IV in 1558. In 1795, the British demolished the
original building. Nearly a hundred years later in 1887,
Bishop Dom Gomez Ferriera commissioned a new building which
was proclaimed as a Basilica in 1984 by Pope John Paul II.
Built in the neo-classical style the pulpit is carved on
wood and has a fantastic pastel-coloured interior. This
church has some very beautiful paintings on the ceiling.
St.George Ferona Church
Located in Edappally, 10 km from Kochi, this Roman
Catholic church is one of the oldest churches in Kerala. It
was built in 594 AD in the land donated by the Raja of
Edappally. In 1080, a new church was built adjacent to the
old church. The annual nine day festival is celebrated in
the month of May. Vendors sell all kinds of wares mainly mud
vessels during this festival. The main offering here is
chicken and devotees cook and eat food in the church
premises.
Sri Raja Rajeshwari Temple, Chottanikkara
The temple is located in Chottanikkara via
Thrippunithura, 15km from Kochi. The presiding deity here is
Durga Bhagavathy also known by various names such as
Bhadrakali, Saraswati, Amman etc. The goddess is worshipped
here in her three forms, one after another- as Saraswathy in
the morning, Bhadrakali in the noon and Durga in the
evening. There is also one more temple as a part of the
complex where the deity is Bhadrakali Devi. The major
festival 'Makam Thozhal' falls during Feb-March every year
for a period of 9 days. This temple is famous for the
healing powers, especially relating to mental illness and
disorders.
Sree Poornathreyesa Temple
Located at Tripunithura,10 km from Kochi city, this temple
formerly belonged to the Cochin Royalty. The deity here is
Maha Vishnu and the temple is one among the three Vishnu
temples in Kerala. This is the only place in South India
where one can see an odd pose of Lord Vishnu, known as 'Poornathrayeesa'
sitting under the shade of five royal hoods of the divine
serpent, Ananthan, whose folded body itself acts as the
throne for the God. Arjuna, the great archer and warrier,
one of the Pancha Pandavas is believed to have established
this temple. The eight day long annual festival of this
temple is held during Nov-Dec, while the other cultural
festival 'Attachamayam' is celebrated during harvest
festival of Onam.
Mookambika Temple
Saraswathy temple, also known as the Mookambika Temple is
situated in North Paruvur a small town in Kerala. It is one
of the rare temples dedicated to Goddess Saraswathy (the
Goddess for arts and learning) in Kerala
Vamanamurthy Temple, Thrikkakkara
This ancient temple is dedicated to Vamana, the fifth
incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The temple holds a large number
of lithic records, some of great historical significance.
The annual festival is held in the month of
August-September.
Ernakulam Shiva Temple
Situated in the heart of the city, facing Rajendra
Maidan is one of the ancient temples in Central Kerala. Lord
Shiva also known as 'Ernakulathappan' is the presiding deity
of this temple. It was built during the Maharaja rule. This
is one of the rarest Siva Temples where the deity is facing
the sea. The annual festival in the temple is celebrated for
8 days during January-February every year. The festival
concludes with the 'Arattu' procession when the image of the
deity is taken for a sacred bath in the temple pool and in
the night there is spectacular fireworks. A cultural
festival is also held with a variety of programmes such as
music concerts, classical dance performances including
Kathakali, Kerala's very own spectacular dance drama.
St. Mary's Church, Vallarpadam
A major pilgrim center for Christians, St. Mary's church
is located in the middle of Vallarpadam island across the
backwaters from the mainland Ernakulam This popular shrine
was built by the Portuguese missionaries in 1524. History
has it that the old church, which was then known as the
Church of the Holy Spirit, was destroyed in floods in the
17th century and a new church was built on the same spot in
1676. It was declared a special church by Pope Leo XIII in
1888. In 1951, the Union Government declared it a major
pilgrim centre. The church was declared the status of a
basilica on February 12, 2005. The church has the famous
picture of the 'Blessed Virgin Mary' which the Portuguese
brought from their native land. |
